Yarn windup



Nov. 1, 1966 w. D. PORTER YARN WI NDUP 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 23, 1965 W. D. PORTER Nov. 1, 1966 YARN WINDUP 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1965 W. D. PORTER Nov. 1, 1966 YARN WINDUP 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 25, 1965 Nov. 1, 1966 w. D. PORTER 3,282,516

'YARN WINDUP Filed July 23. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,282,516 YARN WINDUP William Donnie Porter, Wilmington, Del., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 23, 1965, Ser. No. 474,225 Claims. (Cl. 24218) This application is a continuation-in-part of my forfeited copending application Serial No. 315,795, filed October 14, 1963. The invention relates generally to the packaging of yarns and, more particularly, to :an apparatus for winding a controlled length of waste yarn in a bunch and a controlled length helical winding in advance of the primary yarn package.

In the initiation of a fresh package on an empty yarn package support, a short length of yarn with modified physical properties sometimes results from variations in yarn tension. This initial length of unacceptable yarn must be isolated from the main winding, removed and discarded. When wound in a narrow space axially displaced from the package area, this yarn length is frequently referred to as a waste bunch. In addition, it is usually desirable to provide a short winding or transfer tail of acceptable yarn between the waste bunch and the package which tail is freely available for tying to the outer end of yarn on another package when rewinding or otherwise processing the yarn.

Although devices for applying transfer tails and Waste bunches at moderate processing speeds of up to several hundred yards per minute are known, .they are generally unsuited for this purpose when yarn is being Wound at higher speeds and the supplementary windings must be accomplished in a very short time interval such as, for example, approximately 0.08 second. At such high speeds, it is very important to coordinate the different winding sequences in order to avoid excessive buildup of supplementary windings. This is particularly important for surface-driven windups since excessive supplementary windings impair surface contacts between the drive roll and yarn package support and result in unsatisfactory package formation. In addition, known transfer tail guide devices are quite complex and attempts to modify them for high speed operation have generally resulted in excessively complicated and cumbersome apparatus requiring excessive maintenance, a high degree of operator skill and a large operating force.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a simple, compact, relatively inexpensive guide device for forming not only a waste bunch in a relatively. confined area but also a transfer tail of predetermined yardage in a controlled manner, both windings being formed around a rotating package support outside of the actual package area. A further objective is to provide a guide device with which a waste bunch and transfer tail can be wound effectively at very high winding speeds with a minimum of operator skill and assistance.

These objectives are achieved in a windup which includes a yarn source, a rotatably driven package support, a self-threading traverse guide through which the yarn advances as a package is wound on the support and a transfer tail guide. The latter includes an arm which terminates near one limit of the traverse stroke and has a guide plate mounted on its terminal end. A wheel is ro- "ice tatably mounted on the plate and has at least one tooth projecting outwardly in a position to interrupt yarn traverse around the plate toward the path of travel of the self-threading guide. That traverse continues when wheel inertia is overcome by the level of tension on the yarn.

Additional objectives and advantages will be apparent from the following specification wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic illustration of a windup into which one embodiment of the transfer tail guide has been incorporated;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of the windup shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the transfer tail guide shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the transfer tail guide, parts having been broken away and shown in section to reveal details of construction;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of. a modified transfer tail guide;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the windup into which the preferred embodiment of the transfer tail guide has been incorporated;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of the windup shown in FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are detailed plan and side views, respectively, of the transfer tail guide shown in FIGS. 6 and 7';

FIG. 10 is a side view of the reciprocating traverse guide shown in FIGS. 6 and 7; and

FIG. 11 is a side view of a modified traverse guide.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the transfer tail guide of the present invention has been designated with the numeral 10 and shown in association with a yarnwinding apparatus of the type disclosed by ,Akers in US. Patent No. 3,008,658. As components, the windup includes a cam assembly enclosed within a housing 12, a bobbin-receiving chuck 14, a drive roll 16, a motor 18 and a linkage assembly 20 mounting chuck 14 and roll 16 for movement relative to housing 12 as a package 22 of yarn 24 accumulates. Motor 18 is coupled to roll 16 by a belt 23. Yarn 24 advances to package 22 through a fixed pigtail guide 31, over guide bar 15 attached to holder 13 on housing 12 and through a self-threading traverse guide 26. The latter includes a cam-engaging portion which follows the path of a continuous helical groove in a rotatably driven barrel cam located in housing 12 and is restricted to a reciprocating path of travel by rails forming a part of .the housing, as disclosed by Altice et al. in US. Patent No. 3,074,286. Cooperating with bar 15 to retain yarn 24 in the traverse guide during the period immediately following initiation of a new package is a guide bar 19 fastened to arm 17 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 21 projecting from housing 12. Additional pins 25 and 27 serve as stops .to limit the pivotal movement of arm 17.

The cam path mentioned above has been shown in FIG. 2 and designated with the numeral 28. By virtue of its engagement in the cam groove, guide 26 is traversed back and forth relative to a bobbin tube 29 telescoped on chuck 14, through the length of a package area bounded by broken lines 30, 32. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a sucker gun 34 which is used to position yarn 24' between bars 15, 19 and outside of guide 10 before its placement in a stringup groove 36. As illustrated, groove 36 is situated beyond the package area and is incomplete, i.e., extends through less than the full circumference of bobbin tube 29.

Transfer tail guide includes a polygonal plate 35 attached to the terminal end of an arm 37 which extends lengthwise of chuck 14 and is joined to a pad 38 on housing 12. Pad 38 :and the outer edge of plate 35 are on opposite sides of the package area, i.e., are outside the stroke of traverse guide 26. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, arm 37 receives plate 35 within a rabbet 39. In turn, plate 35 is provided with a slot 40 which facilitates length adjustments when the illustrated fasteners are released. At its opposite end, the peripheral edge of plate 35 has rectilinear lengths 42, 44, 46, 48, all of which are rounded, have no sharp corners or edges and are angularly disposed in a predetermined manner so as to traverse yarn 24' along a programmed path after it has been snagged by groove 36 (FIG. 2). Length 44 is positioned in substantial parallelism with groove 36. These lengths are all situated beyond the stroke of traverse guide 26.

A mounting block 50 is attached to the lower surface of plate 35 by fasteners 52 and is provided with passages for a permanent magnet 54 and a set screw 56 by means of which the magnet can be positioned relative to a wheel '58. The latter is provided with eight ratchet-shaped teeth 60 and is made of a magnetically responsive stainless steel. Wheel 58 is journaled about an upstanding shaft 62 which is fixed to an extension of block 50 and positioned so that teeth 60 project beyond lengths 44, 46, 48. Each tooth 60 is finished with no sharp edges or corners and is contoured to assure a smooth, frictionless, snag-free guiding and release of yarn 24' during rotation of wheel 58 and upon completion of a tail-winding sequence.

To form a waste bunch and transfer trail before the start of an atcual package, package support 29 is first brought up to the winding speed. A running yarn line 24' is positioned between bars 15, 19 and outside of arm 37 by means of sucker gun 34 and is then directed into partial groove 36, as shown in FIG. 2. The operator moves arm '17 to position 17' so as to engage bar 19 with the yarn, thus providing additional threadline tension which helps to retain the yarn in the traverse guide during the period immediately following package initiation. Since yarn 24' and the surface of tube 29 are moving in opposite directions, snagging of the yarn in an end of groove 36 serves to sever the yarn and snap it sharply back in a direction toward angularly disposed length 42 of plate 35. After yarn 24' has been broken by snagging in groove 36 and has snapped back, it experiences a momentary slackening or drop in tension for a substantial distance upstream of pigtail guide 31. As the snagged endpasses under the transfer tail guide 10, the yarn line comes into contact with length 42 which is inclined toward housing 12 and functions to traverse the yarn to length 44 which is parallel to groove 36. The running yarn then slides along length 44 until it contacts the first exposed tooth 60 which functions temporarily as a fixed guide and thereby delays yarn traverse until the operating tension level is brought back to normal. In this interval, a small Waste bunch which contains all yarn wound at sub-normal tensions is wound. When a normal winding tension level is reached, the interia of wheel 58 and the restaining force exerted by magnet 54 are overcome and wheel 58 indexes one step, carrying the yarn toward length 48. As the wheel is indexing, good quality yarn is wound in a helical transfer tail between the waste bunch and the package area on bobbin tube 29. Since length 48 is parallel to both the rotational axis of chuck 14 and to a projection of the traverse guide stroke, transfer tail guide 10 no longer rest-rains traversing movement of the yarn line. At this instant, the yarn quickly flips off the top of the guiding tooth 60 to a position where it is picked up by self-threading traverse guide 26 and a package is begun. The operator then swings arm 17 to its inoperative position, thus disengaging bar 19 from further yarn contact. From this point, no further operator assistance is required until a completed package has been wound and is ready to be dofied.

As is apparent from the foregoing, the field of magnet 54 imposes cyclic levels of torque during rotation of wheel 58. When one of the teeth 60 approaches magnet 54, it is attracted to a position directly opposite the magnet, as shown in FIG. 3. In the illustrated embodiment, wheel 58 indexes in angular increments of about 45 due to the spacing of teeth 60. By varying the strength or position of magnet 54, the extent of lateral urging that the yarn must exert to index wheel 58 can be increased or decreased. Thus, relatively simple adjustments are available for regulating the length of a trans-fer tail. Provision of magnet '54 serves the additional and definite purpose of automatically resetting wheel 58 at the conclusion of each tail-winding sequence.

For processing some types of yarn, it has been found that the rotational inertia of wheel 58 alone is sufficient to insure formation of good quality transfer tails without assistance of a magnet. However, the stepwise restaint or indexing feature of the magnetic arrangement has been found advantageous with most types of yarn.

Thus, a transfer tail-forming device which is compact, simple and has comparatively few parts has been provided. In addition to the fact that it has been found to be relatively trouble free and capable of being fabricated economically, its ease of operation and minimal maintenance requirements have reduced the need for skilled operator assistance and consequently have reduced costs. Finally, by virtue of its adjustable features, either by repositioning the guide changing the rotational inertia of the wheel or adjusting the magnetic drag, a versatile device has been provided which is capable of processing a wide range of yarn denier-s and forming almost any desired length'of transfer tail.

One modification within the basic concept of this invention has been the addition of a yarn-restraining hook near the junction of the lengths 42 and 44 illustrated in FIG. 5. This improves operation of the guide with multifilament yarns by helping to maintain the several filaments in a coherent bundle during the initial start-up and then throughout formation of the supplementary windings, In operation, with this modification, the yarn line is first inserted in hook 70 before being introduced into groove 36. When the yarn has been severed and is in engagement with the projecting tooth 60', the remaining sequence of events is essentially the same as previously described.

The preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-10 has a transfer tail guide which includes a plate member 81 attached to the terminal end of an arm 82. The latter is perpendicular to the axis of chuck 14 and is attached to a shaft 83 rotatably mounted in spaced bearings 84 carried on housing 12. A link 85 is fixed to shaft 83 and pivoted between bifurcations at the upper end of a vertical rod 86 which is slidable in bosses 87, 88 on a bracket 89 carried by housing 12. This linkage imparts a rotary movement to shaft 83 when rod 86 is moved vertically. A compression spring 90 is disposed on rod 86 between a fixed collar 91 and boss 87. A pedal 92 is fastened to rod 86 between bosses 87, 88. The latter serves as a stop to limit downward vertical movement of pedal 92 while compression spring 90 works in combination with collar 91 to determine the upward travel of rod 86.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, plate 81 is provided with a slot- 93, one side of which is defined by rectilinear yarn contact lengths 94, 95. As mentioned above in connection with hook 70 (FIG. 5), slot 93 maintains the "several filaments of a multifilament yarn in a coherent bundle during initial stri-n-gup. Length 95 is situated in substantial parallelism with stringup groove 36 and beyond the stroke of traverse guide 96. Plate 81 is provided with passages for a permanent magnet 97 and set screw 98 by means of which the magnet can be positioned rela-' 'tive to wheel 100. The latter is journaled about an upstanding shaft 102 fixed to a lower tongue on plate member 81 and is positioned so that teeth 104 project beyond rectilinear lengths 94, 95 and radial length 105.

In operation, with this preferred embodiment, :the yarn line is first inserted in slot 93. Then, tail-winding guide 80 is lowered to the position shown in phantom at 82' '(FIG. 6) by depressing pedal 92. After this, the sequence of events is essentially the same as previously described.

The con-figuration of traverse guide 96 has been shown in FIG. 10. It has cam-, railand yarn-engaging por tions 110, 111, 112, respectively, and differs principally from that disclosed by Altice et a l. ingU.S. Patent No. 3,086,722 by the provision of a teardrop yarn-guiding slot 113. This profile serves to retain a running yarn in the slot and thereby does away with the need for hold-down bars of the type shown at 17, 19 in FIGS. 1 and .2. A kidney-shaped slot profile 113' which serves the same general purpose has been shown in the yarn-guiding portion 112' of guide 96' in FIG. 11.

If it is desirable to keep the waste bunch separate from package 22, the stringup groove 36 can be located on chuck 14 rather than in bobbin tube 29. Other modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention which is accordingly intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by letters Patent is:

1. In a windup including a yarn source, a rotatably driven package support and a self-threading traverse guide through which the yarn advances as a package is wound on said support, a transfer tail guide comprising: an'arm extending lengthwise of said support in proximal relationship thereto and terminating near one limit of the traverse stroke, said support having means thereon beyond said one limit for snagging yarn to initiate a package; a plate member mounted on the terminal end of said arm, said plate member having an outer peripheral edge adapted for engagement by the yarn after it is snagged and around which the yarn then traverses to a position in the path of travel of said traverse guide; and a wheel rotatably mounted on said plate, said wheel having at lea-st one tooth projecting outwardly beyond said edge in a position to interrupt yarn traverse around the edge, said wheel being adapted for rotation responsive to a minimum level of yarn tension.

2. The windup of claim 1 where-in means is provided on said plate in association with said wheel for opposing its rotation.

3. The windup of claim 1 wherein is provided a magnet on said plate, said wheel being of magnetically responsive material and having another tooth normally positioned in close proximity to said magnet.

4. The windup of claim 3 wherein said outer edge includes successive, angularly disposed, rectilinear lengths and said one tooth projects outwardly beyond a length which is substantially normal to a projection of the traverse stroke.

5. A windup comprising: a yarn source; a fixed guide through which yarn advances from said source; a rotatably driven package support including a cylindrical surface beyond the package area, said surface being provided with a circumferential stringup groove adapted to snag yarn and thereby initiate a package; a self-threading, cam actuated, traverse guide through which the yarn advances as a package .is wound; an elongated arm fixedly mounted at one end thereof, said arm extending lengthwise of the support and terminating near one limit of the traverse stroke; a plate member mounted on the terminal end of said arm, said member having an outer peripheral edge adapted for engagement by the yarn' after it is snagged and around which the yarn then traverses to a position in the path of travel of said traverse guide;

6 and a wheel rotatably mounted on said member, said wheel having at least one tooth projecting outwardly in a position to interrupt yarn traverse around the edge, said wheel being :adaptedfor rotation responsive to a minimum level of yarn tension.

6. The windup of claim 5 wherein .said edge includes successive, angularly disposed, rectilinear lengths in the approach to said tooth, one of said lengths being inclined toward a projection of said traverse stroke and positioned for engagement with said yarn after it is placed in said groove, the succeeding length being substantially normal to said projection.

7. The windup of claim 6 wherein means is provided on said member in association with said whee-l for opposing its rotation responsive to yarn tension.

8. The windup of claim 5 wherein said grooves extends only partially through the circumference of said surface, said edge includes a rectilinear length in substantial parallel-ism with said groove and said tooth projects outwardly beyond said length.

9. The windup of claim 8 wherein is provided a hook projecting from said rectilinear length for reception of the yarn before its placement in said groove.

10. In a windup including a yarn source, a fixed guide through which yarn advances from said source, a rotatably driven package support provided with a stringup groove adjacent one of its ends, outside the package area, for snagging yarn at the initiation of a package and a self-threading traverse guide through which the yarn advances as a package is wound, a transfer tail-winding guide comprising:

an arm extending toward and terminating near said one end of the package support;

a plate member mounted on the terminal end of said arm, said plate member having a portion of its peripheral edge adapted for engagement by said yarn when snagged and around which the yarn then traverses to a position in the path of travel of said traverse guide;

and a wheel rotata-bly mounted on said plate member, said wheel being provided with a tooth projecting from said portion of the peripheral edge in a position to interrupt traverse of the yarn to said traverse guide and being adapted for rotation responsive to a minimum level of yarn tension.

11. The windup of claim 10 wherein said arm is pivotally mounted for swinging of its terminal end toward and away from a position in which said plate member is in close proximity to both the package support and a projection of the traverse guide stroke.

12. The windup of claim 11 wherein said portion of the peripheral edge of said member has a slot therein through which the yarn is advanced before swinging movement of the arm toward said position and before its place ment in said stringup groove.

13. A windup comprising: a yarn source; a fixed guide through which yarn advances from said source; a rotatably driven package support including a cylindrical surface beyond the package area, said surface being provided with a circumferential stringup groove adapted to snag yarn and thereby initiate a package; a self-threading, cam actuated, traverse guide through which the yarn advances as a package is wound; an elongated arm pivotally mounted for swinging movement toward and away from said support; a plate member mounted on said arm, said member having a peripheral slot adapted to receive the yarn before stringup and an edge around which the snagged yarn traverses to said traverse guide; and a wheel rotatably mounted on said plate member, said wheel having at least one tooth projecting outwardly in a position to interrupt yarn traverse from said slot and around said edge, said wheel being adapted for rotation responsive to a minimum level of yarn tension, said slot being substantially in alignment with said stringup groove when the arm is swung to a position adjacent said support.

14. The w'indup of claim 13 wherein means is provided on said plate member in association with said wheel for opposing its rotation responsive to yarn tension.

15. The win'dup of :claim 13 wherein is provided a magnet on said plate member, said Wheel being of magnetically responsive material and having another tooth normally positioned in close proximity to said magnet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,262,665 11/1941 Cavanangh 242125.l

STANLEY N. GILR-EATH, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A WINDUP INCLUDING A YARN SOURCE, A ROTATABLY DRIVEN PACKAGE SUPPORT AND A SELF-THREADING TRAVERSE GUIDE THROUGH WHICH THE YARN ADVANCES AS A PACKAGE IS WOUND ON SAID SUPPORT, A TRANSFER TAIL GUIDE COMPRISING: AN ARM EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID SUPPORT IN PROXIMAL RELATIONSHIP THERETO AND TERMINATING NEAR ONE LIMIT OF THE TRAVERSE STROKE, SAID SUPPORT HAVING MEANS THEREON BEYOND SAID ONE LIMIT FOR SNAGGING YARN TO INITIATE A PACKAGE; A PLATE MEMBER MOUNTED ON THE TERMINAL END OF SAID ARM, SAID PLATE MEMBER HAVING AN OUTER PERIPHERAL EDGE ADAPTED FOR ENGAGEMENT BY THE YARN AFTER IT IS SNAGGED AND AROUND WHICH THE YARN THEN TRAVERSES TO A POSITION IN THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID TRAVERSE GUIDE; AND A WHEEL ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE, SAID WHEEL HAVING AT LEAST ONE TOOTH PROJECTING OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID EDGE IN A POSITION TO INTERRUPT YARN TRAVERSE AROUND THE EDGE, SAID WHEEL BEING ADAPTED FOR ROTATION RESPONSIVE TO A MINIMUM LEVEL OF YARN TENSION. 